Special couple: A tip of the Houston cap to Rep. Giffords, Capt. Kelly

HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Published 5:30 am, Monday, June 27, 2011

Obviously, we're among the countless millions rooting for a happy ending to emerge out of the catastrophe that befell Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her Houstonian husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, when the congresswoman was shot in the head by a lone gunman in Tucson, Ariz., last January.

Thanks to the work of skilled physicians at TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital here, not to mention the prayers and well wishes of millions globally, Gabby, as we've all come to know her, has made bedazzling progress across the intervening months.

Recently she was cleared by the TIRR docs to continue her rehabilitation at the League City home of her husband.

Following his bravura performance as commander of the final flight of the space shuttle Endeavour, Captain Kelly has chosen to take retirement in order to spend time with his wife and to pursue other interests. His retirement was not unexpected, given the phase-out of the shuttle program.

As we've recently learned, one of those pursuits will be the writing of a joint memoir. It has been characterized as an "intimate chronicle" of their lives separately and together, and Kelly has promised that it will include stories and details that the public scarcely knows.

Beg pardon for the awful pun, but we feel certain it will rocket to the top of the best-seller lists.

Over her time here, Houstonians have come to think of the congresswoman as one of our own. As she makes her path to recovery in the months ahead, we feel certain that Houstonians will demonstrate their usual civility and courtesy in allowing her to do so undisturbed by curiosity seekers.

We can't know how that hoped-for happy ending will look, but we can safely speculate that it will contain more surprises from both of these extraordinary people.